10.  The applicants were born in 1932 and 1933 respectively and live in Pruszków.
11.  The applicants owned a plot of land situated in Pruszków, near Warsaw. In 1982 the applicants were informed by the local authorities that, pursuant to a local zoning plan, their land was to be expropriated as a construction of dwelling buildings was planned in its place.
12.  The applicants requested the Pruszków City Council to be compensated by another plot of land. Their son also filed a request asking that a plot of land be allocated to him. By a letter of 16 May 1986 the Pruszków City Council informed the applicants that their request could not be granted. On 22 April 1987 the applicants' son was informed that his request to be allocated a plot of land within the Pruszków community was viewed favourably by the Social Commision (Komisja Społeczna) but could only be processed after the expropriation of his parents' plot. In 1987 the expropriation procedure commenced. In their letters the local authorities confirmed that after the expropriation of the applicants' land an allocation of a plot of land within the Pruszków community to the applicants' son would become possible.
13.  Eventually the applicants' land was not expropriated but the applicants consented to a contract of sale. On 8 December 1987 they transferred ownership of their land to the State Treasury represented by the Pruszków City Council. They received the amount.
14.  Following the sale they repeatedly inquired about the allocation of building land within the municipality but no steps were taken in order for the allocation to become effective and no decision as to the allocation was given.
15.  In 1990 the applicants' son was informed by the City Council that the allocation of plots of land within the community had been conducted in violation of the law and in disregard of the principles of transparency. Therefore, the entire process was to be reviewed.
16.  On 26 November 1991 the applicants instituted proceedings against the State Treasury represented by the Pruszków City Council. They requested the Pruszków District Court “to oblige the Pruszków City Council to allot a plot of land to their son, as promised”. The Pruszków District Court transferred the matter to the Warsaw Regional Court which rejected the claim finding that only the administrative authorities had jurisdiction in matters concerning expropriations and granting replacement plots. The Court of Appeal upheld that decision on 10 February 1993.
17.  On 26 August 1993 the applicant sent a letter of complaint to the Ministry of Justice. On an unspecified date the Ministry of Justice transferred the letter to the Warsaw Regional Court. That court recognised that the applicants' action should be interpreted as an action to revoke the contract of sale with the Pruszków City Council of 8 December 1987 as they had consented to it on the mistaken belief that the City Council would allocate a comparable plot of land to their son. On 15 December 1993 the Warsaw Regional Court decided that, in view of fact that the value of the claim amounted to PLN (old) 10,000,000, a district court should examine the matter. The case was transferred to the Pruszków District Court. Subsequently, the applicants extended their claim and, on 18 August 1994, the Pruszków District Court transferred the case to the Warsaw Regional Court. On 18 October 1994 the case was transferred back to the Pruszków District Court and that court examined the case. On 3 June 1996 the first instance judgment was delivered. The court allowed the applicants' claim finding that they had indeed acted on the assumption that the sale of their property had been the condition for the allocation of a new plot of land to their son and that that assumption had been prompted and maintained by the Pruszków City Council.
18.  The State Treasury, represented by the Pruszków City Council, filed an appeal. On 6 February 1997 the Warsaw Regional Court quashed the judgment and remitted the case to the first-instance court for reconsideration. The Warsaw Regional Court found that not all circumstances of the case had been examined by the first-instance court and that although the applicants had indeed acted upon the promise that the applicants' son would be allocated a plot of land, no time limit had been set for that. Therefore, the trial court was instructed, in particular, to examine whether the applicants' son could still be allocated a plot of land.
19.  Having reconsidered the case, on 26 February 1998 the Pruszków District Court dismissed the applicants' action. It found that the transfer of the applicants' plot of land to the State had been inevitable since it had been planned for expropriation. Thus, the applicants could not validly claim that they had relied on the promises that their son would be allocated another plot of land and that they had therefore been unduly induced to sign the contract.
20.  The applicants appealed.
21.  On an unspecified date the applicants tried to obtain free legal aid in the proceedings. By a letter of 23 June 1998 the Polish Bar Association informed the applicants that it was not competent to grant legal aid and that such a request should be addressed to a court. On 29 June 1998 the applicants sent a letter to the President of the District Court in Pruszków requesting free legal aid in the proceedings. On 11 September 1998 the court granted free legal aid to the applicants and on 21 September 1998 it addressed the Warsaw Bar to appoint an advocate for the applicants. Following this decision, on 6 October 1998 the Warsaw Bar Association appointed advocate A.Z. as the applicants' ex officio attorney. Apparently, advocate A.Z. could not represent the applicants. On 3 Nobember 1998 A.Z. informed the court that she did not wish to represent them. The Warsaw Bar Association accepted this argument and discharged A.Z. from the representation of the applicants. On 3 December 1998, the Warsaw Bar Association appointed advocate G.P-R. to represent the applicants. On 31 December 1998 G.P.-R. sent a letter to the Warsaw Bar requesting the Bar to discharge her of her duties.
22.  On 7 January 1999 the applicants wrote a letter to the President of the Pruszków District Court in which they complained that despite the court's decision granting them legal aid none of the attorneys appointed so far expressed any interest in their case. In response, the President of the Pruszków District Court instructed the applicants that they should address the Warsaw Bar Association directly. At the same time, the President also undertook to draw attention of the Warsaw Bar Association to the applicants' problem. On 18 January 1999 the applicants wrote to the President of the Warsaw Regional Court. They stated that their case was about to be examined by the second‑instance court for the second time and that they were at a significant disadvantage in comparison with the defendants, the State Treasury, which was represented by a lawyer.
23.  On 5 February 1999 the Warsaw Bar Association appointed advocate K.B. to represent the applicants. He met with the applicants in March 1999 and represented them at the hearing held before the appellate court on 25 May 1999. On that date the Warsaw Regional Court issued a judgment dismissing the applicants' appeal. The applicants were informed by that court that a cassation appeal could be filed.
24.  After the hearing the lawyer instructed the applicants to take steps in order to have the judgment with its written grounds served on them.
25.  On 25 May 1999 the applicants themselves requested the court to serve on them the judgment with its written grounds.
26.  On 23 September 1999 the applicants were duly served with a copy of the judgment together with its written grounds.
27.  In a letter to the court of 30 September 1999 the applicants complained about certain errors in the judgment. Subsequently, the court corrected certain clerical errors in the written grounds of the judgment and sent it to the applicants by registered post. The applicants did not collect it from the post office.
28.  On 23 October 1999 the applicants sent a registered letter to advocate K.B. asking him to indicate when he could be available for consultation or to call them back. There was no reply to this letter.
29.  On 22 November 1999 the applicants wrote to the Warsaw Bar Association asking for assistance. They complained that since the date of the hearing before the appellate court they could not reach advocate K.B.
30.  On 30 November 1999 the applicants wrote to the President of the Warsaw Regional Court stating that they could not reach their ex officio lawyer and asking for instructions. In response, the applicants were informed that the President of the Court did not have any supervisory powers in respect of ex officio attorneys and that they should contact the Warsaw Bar Association. The President of the Regional Court also stated that he had obliged the President of the Civil Division at that court to draw the attention of the Warsaw Bar to the problem submitted by the applicants.
31.  On 23 December 1999 the applicants sent a letter to the Warsaw Bar Association, complaining about the lawyer's failure to contact them and asking for assistance in their case.
32.  On 5 January 2000 the applicants sent another registered letter to K.B. asking for urgent contact in view of the impossibility to reach him. They stated that they had unsuccessfully tried to get in touch with him for several months as his cellular phone had been changed and the fixed phone did not reply.
33.  On 12 January 2000 the judgment of 23 May 1999 was sent to the lawyer's office by registered post. It was served on K.B. on 21 January 2000.
34.  On 27 January 2000 the applicants and the lawyer met at his office. They were informed during this meeting that there were no grounds for filing a cassation appeal in their case.
35.  By a letter of 28 January 2000 the applicants informed the President of the Warsaw Regional Court of the meeting held on 27 January 2000. They submitted that K.B. had given them the judgment, had informed them that there were no grounds on which he could lodge a further appeal against it and suggested that they sign a declaration that they wished to give up pursuing the case.
36.  On 15 February 2000 they sent a further letter to the Warsaw Regional Bar Association, in which they complained that the legal aid lawyer had met with them “seven months after the termination of the proceedings” and informed them that he saw no grounds to pursue the case any further.
37.  On 1 March 2000 the Secretary of the Warsaw Bar Association informed the applicants that K.B. had responded to the charges brought against him in the applicants' complaint lodged on 22 November 1999. According to his explanations, there were no grounds for lodging a cassation appeal in the applicants' case and the applicants had been informed thereof. The Secretary informed the applicants that if an ex officio attorney had found no grounds on which to lodge a cassation appeal, the Bar Association would not appoint another lawyer to do so.